Big 12 could share Gator Bowl tie-in

The Gator Bowl Association's next four-year contract could match up teams from the Big 12, the Big East or Notre Dame against the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Times-Union has learned.

The proposal, if ratified, would begin with the Jan. 1, 2007 game at Alltel Stadium. It would enable the Gator Bowl to invite a Big 12 team for two years, a Big East team for two years, or bypass a Big East team once to select independent Notre Dame if the Irish are bowl-eligble and not in a Bowl Championship Series game.

For non-BCS bowls, Notre Dame is part of the Big East and bound by agreements reached by that conference.

The Big 12, Big East and the Gator Bowl executive board have not yet finalized the deal, but officials of the conferences said an announcement about their bowl affiliations could come as early as this week.

The commissioners of the Big 12 and Big East have verbally agreed to the deal, said 2006 Gator Bowl chairman Mike Hartley.

Gator Bowl Association president Rick Catlett declined comment.

The GBA and the ACC already have renewed their affiliation for 2007-2010.

Big 12 associate athletic director Bob Burda and Big East media relations director John Paquette said final approval must be made by their conference presidents. Both confirmed that the plan to share affiliation with the Gator Bowl is being given serious consideration.

"I think we would have some spectacular matchups," Hartley told the Times-Union Monday of the multi-conference scenario, which would be unique among bowls. "I think we're taking the lead among non-BCS bowls to ensure some flexibility in matchups. This will be the coming thing for bowls."

Since 1996, the Gator Bowl has paired the ACC vs. a Big East team or Notre Dame. This is the final year of that arrangement.

If the agreement is passed, the Gator Bowl would join the Cotton, Holiday, Alamo and Champs Sports Bowls among the Big 12 affiliates. Among the teams playing in those games in recent years: Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas Tech.

The agreement also calls for more flexibility in bowl selections instead of slotting bowls in games according to their finish in the conference standings. Conference commissioners, bowls and television partners would determine non-BCS matchups that would result in more fan interest, and make consecutive bowl trips (Texas to the Holiday Bowl or West Virginia to the Gator Bowl) less frequent.

Either way, the Gator Bowl has been a hot property and had discussions with every major conference except the Pac-10.

"The Gator Bowl is a strong point of interest for the Big 12," Burda said. "It has a New Year's Day date in a state-of-the-art NFL stadium and in a city known for its hospitality for bowl teams. The game also is in an area that could be very helpful for our teams in terms of recruiting."

Paquette said the Big East's goal was to remain part of the Gator Bowl despite losing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC. The Big East has since added Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida.

"We've enjoyed our relationship with the Gator Bowl and Jacksonville, and we hope to be their partners in the future," he said.

Immediate past Gator Bowl chairman Bob Smith, who is the chairman of the selection committee for this year's game, said other plans have not yet been ruled out. But he said the Big 12/Big East plan has the most steam.

"We're working to accomplish a realignment of our affiliations," Smith said. "We're keeping all our options open, but having a choice of two conferences against the ACC is certainly one of those options."

"The Big 12 and the Big East are the major players right now," said past chairman Bob White.

When negotiations for the new affiliation contract began early this year, the ACC and the Gator Bowl quickly renewed their agreement for another four years, a move that went hand-in-hand, White said, with the city landing the ACC Championship Game in 2005 and 2006.

"We're married to the ACC," White said. "That's never been the issue."

The Big East's loss of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC put that conference's future with the Gator Bowl in doubt. However, Gator Bowl officials have never ruled out maintaining a relationship with the Big East, which has produced a team that played in five of the top-10 attended games in the bowl's history.

The major sticking point is the conference's relationship with Notre Dame. For the Big East to remain affiliated, GBA officials still wanted access to Notre Dame. Initially, the GBA wanted the Notre Dame option in any given year, if the Big East remained with the Gator Bowl, but Hartley said that position has been softened with the addition of the Big 12 to the picture.

"We don't need to demand the access to Notre Dame in all four years of the contract, since we've got the chance to get Big 12 teams such as Texas, Nebraska, Kansas State or Colorado," he said.

Attendance averaged more than 72,000 in Notre Dame's two appearances in the Gator Bowl: 2003 against North Carolina State and 1999 against Georgia Tech.

"You can assume that any agreement with the Big East involves the option of taking Notre Dame when it is not in the BCS and bowl-eligible," Smith said.

After the conference affiliations have been finalized, the GBA will turn its attention to its network television deal. NBC, the Gator Bowl's broadcast partner since 1996, has an exclusive negotiating window with the GBA from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. If no renewal agreement is reached, the GBA can accept bids from other networks.